From Grissom
by Vanessa M'Lynn
Summary: My take on how Grissom convinced Sara to stay in Vegas after she requested her leave of absence.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N - This is my take on why Sara stays in Vegas after she threatens to quit in the second season. All Grissom did was send her a plant, no real apology to speak of yet she didn't take her leave of absence and she didn't quit. The tricky part is that they aren't in their relationship yet, but here's my take on it anyway. . . enjoy._

The knock on her door shocked Sara out of her reverie. She'd been sitting on her couch staring off in the direction of the TV. It wasn't turned on, but even if it hadn't been she wouldn't have been able to focus on what she was watching.

Opening the door she was shocked to see a delivery man with a plant.

"Miss Sidle?" She nodded her head. "Please sign here."

She signed on the designated line, took the plant and shut the door. The whole transaction took place without Sara even opening her mouth. She felt guilty about not even telling the man thank you but it was over with now. On top of everything else she was feeling she wasn't going to traipse after some delivery man to make herself look like a blithering idiot.

She set the plant down on her kitchen counter to look at it. It held a large orange flower in the midst of large, thick leaves. Searching, she found the card stuck amongst the leaves. Not knowing what to expect, she opened the card.

_From Grissom._

What the hell? Not even a hokey "The lab needs you." Nothing. Just "From Grissom". Of course it wasn't like Grissom to leave clues about why he did what he did but this was more cryptic than usual. Without consciously thinking about it she reached for her phone and hit the speed dial for Grissom.

"Hey," he answered.

"I got the plant. Is this your sorry excuse at an attempt to convince me to stay?"

"Sara, I'm not sure what else to do. I thought it would be a nice gesture, maybe help you see that you are respected and wanted."

"Griss, A plant isn't going to help me see anything except that you're grasping at straws to get me to stay. For the lab no less, not even because you want me to stay on a professional level. You can't even admit that to me!"

She heard a long sigh on the other end. "This is too hard to explain over the phone. Meet me somewhere?"

"I don't know. Would it get me anywhere or will I end up leaving more confused?"

"I promise, Sara, I will explain the best I can."

An hour later she was meeting him at a small restaurant on the edge of town. It was quiet, away from the Strip and allowed them to talk without being interrupted. Once they'd sat down and ordered coffee, she just sat looking at him waiting to begin. It was his idea to talk so she was going to sit there until he did.

"It's not as simple as me saying 'stay because I want you', Sara" he started. He never was one to mince words.

" Ok, then what is it Griss?"

"It's many things. You really are a great criminalist and the lab definitely needs your skills. You're a gifted and brilliant person, Sara, and I don't want anything else I say to diminish that in any way at all. I know that's not what you wanted to hear right now, but it does need to be said."

"Is that all you wanted to say then?" her eyes challenged him to say otherwise.

"No," he exhaled. "Sara . . . I think I know what you need to hear, but I can't give that to you right now. Our relationship has been one spent on thin ice. I value your friendship and would like to keep it intact. I'm not ready to handle more than that, however."

The lump in her throat almost made it impossible for her to respond. To buy time she took a sip of coffee and looked out the window to her left. A few cars passed by and she was able to look at him again and speak without wavering.

"Thank you," she said.

She made to get up and leave but he laid a hand on her arm.

"Sara, please stay. I'll do my best to help make things better at the lab for you. But please stay."

"Fine. But I'm keeping my eye out for other opportunities. I really would like to check out the Federal system eventually." Leaving this caveat hanging between them might give him the sense that she might not actually be around forever. Some part deep inside her probably realized she'd stay until he actually told her to leave, but she couldn't admit that to herself yet.

"If that's what I can get for now, I'll take it."


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Sorry this has been so long in updating, but here's the second chapter. Hope you enjoy._

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything, it's all CBS . . .greedy bastards ___

**Chapter Two**

A week later Sara found herself sitting on some bleachers next to Grissom, deep in the throes of a sports discussion. Well, as deep a discussion as two science geeks could have about sports.

And then that line. The one that would haunt her memory for the next few years.

"_Since when are you interested in beauty?"_

"_Since I met you."_

It seemed like an innocent enough response. However, Sara knew better. The conversation with Grissom last week had left her on edge. She seemed to be waiting for the other boot to drop, or an electric revelation of some kind, but until then nothing had happened. Now she was second guessing the meaning behind his words.

Later that night while she was processing some evidence her mind kept wandering back to the hockey rink. She went through her normal routine of trying to analyze what exactly he meant. Obviously it was a compliment but with Grissom one could never be sure. Whatever it meant exactly though, Sara hadn't been able to crack his code.

"I'm done with this," she muttered to herself. She threw her pen across the table and stood up in frustration.

"Done with what?"

"Shit Grissom! You scared me!"

"Sorry," he said. His eyes had that twinkle that said he really wasn't all that sorry. A sideways smirk accompanied the look and Sara was having a hard time staying mad at him.

"It's ok, I was kind of lost in my work anyway. What's up?"

"Just wanted to check in and see where you were at."

"Not far, really. Still waiting on some results from DNA and Trace. Until then I won't know much."

"Sounds good," he said. "Why don't you take off for the rest of the night. There's not much happening here and you can't go any farther without those results."

"Griss, I'm fine. I can keep working on other cases until shift is over. I don't need to go home." Her voice had that subliminal note of challenge underlying her words but he chose to proceed.

"Sara, there's not really any reason to stay. Nick and Warrick will be here to cover anything that comes up. I was even thinking of leaving early myself."

That last part was said almost as an afterthought it seemed. But he looked right into her eyes as he said it. Did _that_ mean anything? Who knows. She really didn't want to go home. There was nothing to do and anyone she would've wanted to hang out with was in bed. Sleep was out of the question, too. Since it would throw her off going home early her body would want to stay up and do something.

But then again . . . watching a movie and slowly drinking a hot cup of tea sounded wonderful.

"Ok, I'll leave as soon as I'm done logging this last piece of evidence."

Shock registered briefly on his face before his stony demeanor set in again.

"Good. Check with me before you." With that he turned around and walked out of the room.

Thirty minutes later Sara was leaning against the door frame of Grissom's office. She knocked softly to get his attention, not wanting to scare him like he had her earlier. Why she had no idea.

'Maybe I'll get him back later,' she thought to herself.

"Goodnight Grissom. I'll see you tomorrow night."

"Goodnight Sara. I hope you have a good evening."

A smile spread slowly across her face. "I think I will. Thanks."

She turned around slowly and walked out the door. As she was leaving, she couldn't see that his eyes followed her from the room and down the hallway.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N:Ok, here is the next chapter. This follows part of the episode "Anatomy of a Lye". Everything still belongs to CBS and the writers (please come back soon!). It took much longer than I thought to get this posted. Thanks for all the reviews and the reads. Hope you all have a great and safe Thanksgiving._

_P.S. I have no beta so any mistakes are my own._

**Chapter Three**

Things had been going well between them for the last few weeks. It seemed as though Grissom's promise to try and make the lab, mostly him, better for Sara hadn't been just empty words. They'd been working on a case where a man had been discovered buried in a park and covered with lye. Sara was thinking about the last few days as she was coming out of the photo lab looking at Bob Martin's photo's when she met Grissom on the curb. As they moved to cross, Grissom put his arm through hers in a barely perceptible move. She almost didn't realize it was there until he squeezed and pulled her back to prevent her from being hit by a car.

She wasn't trying to kid herself by thinking Grissom's change in attitude was any indication that he had finally realized what was happening underneath the surface between them. In fact, it would probably take longer than she wanted for him to come around but she was willing to take what she could get at this point. The comfortable companionship they'd renewed since their meeting over coffee was by far preferable to the tense professionalism of the weeks leading up to it.

After determining that where they were standing was their original crime scene, they kicked into work mode and processed the pavement for evidence. It took less than an hour to complete as the spot was on such a busy road that most of what they hoped to find was long since driven over. Sara was packing the plastic shards and swabs of blood in her truck for transport back to the lab when she felt Grissom come up behind her.

"Sara?"

"Yeah?"

"I heard through some connections of mine that there may be an opening soon in one of the Federal labs back East. I have the information on my desk if you're still interested."

Surprised, she turned around to survey the look on his face. His expression was deadpan and his eyebrows did not even have that tell tale hint of a joking raise to them.

"Oh, uh thanks. I'll swing by and pick it up from your office before I leave."

"Great."

With that he walked to the front of the truck, climbed in the front seat and waited for her to be done.

'Is he serious? Now that things are better, does he want me to leave? No, that can't be it,' she thought to herself.

'This is going to be one awkward ride back', she thought. And it was. The silence was forced and Sara didn't look at Grissom until she pulled into the parking lot at the lab. She saw his profile briefly before he stepped out of the vehicle. In that moment he didn't seem upset but one could never tell with him when it came to the external manifestation of his emotions.

Walking inside she kept running what she'd say to him through her mind. She ranged from indifferent to indignant but she was too chicken to go through with any rant she could imagine. Logging the evidence didn't take long and before she realized where she was she was knocking on Grissom's office door.

"Hey, I came by to pick up that info you had for me."

He looked at her for a moment as if judging her feelings based on the small sentence she had just spoken. His expressive blue eyes gave away nothing as he broke eye contact to rummage for the papers.

"Right, they're here somewhere. You are still interested in checking this stuff out, right?"

That was it. That small addition to the end of his question gave his intentions away and told Sara what this was about. It wasn't about being considerate and informing her of an open position she was looking for, he was checking to see if she still wanted to stay. Sara suddenly realized that in his very Grissom-ish nature he was trying to determine whether she thought he was keeping up his end of the bargain.

"Um, sort of. If the perfect spot opens up, then possibly. Right now, I'm good here in Vegas."

Looking directly at him, she hoped that her eyes were transmitting the fact that she didn't really intended to leave, not now at any rate. When she'd submitted her request for leave, she thought her only option _**was **_to leave. Now she found herself wanting to stay out of curiosity. Grissom had really made good on his promise and she wanted to see how that continued and if she'd still be reaping the same kind of benefits in a few months that she was now.

His eyebrow rose in that signature questioning look of his.

"Ok. Well here's the information on the position. Let me know if you need help contacting people." He handed her the folder containing everything she would need to transfer out of his life forever. Move across the country, begin fresh and try to move on from Gil Grissom and his intoxicating hold over her emotions.

"Thanks. I'll take a look at it. Have a good night. See you tomorrow."

"Good night, Sara." With that he turned his attention back to the pile of paperwork on his desk.

Sara wasn't sure if he had caught the implied meaning behind her words but she didn't seem to mind. Knowing that he was committed to making their relationship stable meant more to her than her survival instinct to tuck tail and run away. Things were getting better at the moment, and overall she knew the road would probably be bumpy again but it seemed worth it. Something had changed and Sara didn't want to miss out on anything. As she was gathering her stuff from the locker room, she took a moment to thumb through the application packet. At this point almost nothing was good enough to pull her away from the lab in Vegas. Deciding this definitely wasn't the offer she couldn't ignore she left the folder in her locker and left. She'd conveniently forget it was there until the deadline had passed. The Feds could wait.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Never one to be caught up in the Vegas urge to be a new and improved you, Sara was having a hard time mentally processing the case of Ashley James. Here was a woman whose life revolved around her looks and she was found in a shopping cart piled on top of magazines and newspapers with her picture in them. Ashley's dayplanner contained a code that was all but consuming Sara in her attempt to figure it out. Grissom was right; once she picked it up she couldn't put it down.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?"

There he was sneaking up on her again. That man was stealthy

"Yeah," she said smiling. "I could use a bit of a break."

"Well, you never turned in your application packet for the position with the Feds. Did something fall through?"

"No I got part way through filling it out and then I just got wrapped up in the cases lately and must've forgotten about it. I'll finish it and put it on your desk." She had to look back down at the dayplanner to hid her slight smirk or else he'd know what she'd done. Sara knew full well that the deadline was already passed and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Ok, that would be great. I have a friend back in Virginia that can help push it through even though the deadline has passed. We can still get you in the running."

_Oh no, he couldn't be serious. Could he?_ she thought. _Damage control! Think of something! Things have been going so well, don't manage to muck them up in the traditional Sidle style._

"Griss, it's ok. I don't want you to have to call in favors just to slide my application in under the door. I don't want that kind of stigma attached to my name. Besides, I got to looking over the application and the job just didn't grab me completely. Like I said a few weeks ago, I'm good here in Vegas. I really meant it."

It was barley noticeable but she swore she could see him sigh. As usually he displayed nothing on that rugged gorgeous visage but Sara could tell. After years of stealing surreptitious glances at him, she got to know his habits almost as well as if they were in a relationship.

"Ok," he said. "I'll let them know that you're no longer interested." He turned to leave.

"Hey Griss? I think we need to talk. Can you meet for coffee after shift? Same place we went to last time."

Ripples of shock briefly appeared in his eyes.

"Yeah, I can manage that. I'll just need to finish up some paperwork. I'll meet you there."

"Sounds great."

With that, he walked out of the room. Sara sighed and rested her head on the table in front of her. Now that she'd asked him out, what was she going to say?

* * *

She only had to wait a few minutes before Grissom slid into the booth opposite her. He signaled to the waitress and ordered a plain cup of coffee and a muffin.

"So is everything ok?" he asked. "You seemed a little tense when you asked me to meet you here."

"Well I was a little. Mostly because I was, and still am, trying to figure out the code in Ashley James' day planner. But I wanted to talk to you about the whole job thing."

"Sure, if you feel it's necessary."

At that moment the waitress brought Grissom's order. Sara was glad for the interruption so she could straighten out her thoughts. When the waitress was done and had refilled Sara's cup, she walked away leaving Sara no choice but to plunge right in.

"Well as you may have surmised from our earlier conversation I'm not as interested in working for the Feds as I was a few months ago. Truth be told, I never even started to fill out the application; it's been sitting in my locker the whole time. I never imagined you'd be this involved in helping me pursue another job so I just wanted to take some time and let you know that I'm planning on staying in Vegas for a while. Things are better at the lab, which I've been meaning to thank you for, and I feel I have a lot more work to do here to reach my full potential as a criminalist. Instead of the lab needing me, it seems I need the lab."

She gave a wry smile then looked down at her coffee cup. He hadn't said a word and barely moved during her speech.

"Well, that's good to know. You really are great at what you do so I'm not sorry to hear that you'll be staying here. But I hope now you'll be able to come and talk to me about wanting to change avenues before you go submitting another leave of absence."

He was trying to sound gruff and boss-like but she could definitely hear the hint of softness below it. Again, it was years of basically eaves dropping on his conversations, same as when she was stealing looks, at work that alerted her to the under tone. She knew now that she could go to him with anything that came up instead of waiting until she needed to get away. Things were definitely better.

"I promise. So we're good now? No more talk of the Feds and me leaving Vegas?"

"We're good. And Sara, for what it's worth, I'm glad you're staying."

And in that instant she knew that no matter what happened they were going to be more than ok. They may see other people, they may eventually get together, but Sara knew from that moment on she could count on Grissom. Nothing was ever all rose colored glasses and sunshine but she knew they had weathered the worst and they could deal with the rest.

She looked at him smiled.

"Thank you."

THE END.


End file.
